The Language of Flowers
by KidTantei
Summary: Flowers have their own language and meanings. / Belladonna: Sometimes, no words need to be spoken. Sometimes, silence is a great healer; a better one than words.
1. Mistletoe

10/01/13 - Original chapter 1 was completely dumped in the dumpster, and with the help of Write or Die and EditMinion, I have created this... thing. I would delete this LOF and create a new LOF, but all the reviews that people put so much effort into and gave me were too precious to let go. So I'm sorry if you can't review again.

Summary: An innocent flower leads to an unspoken conflict, and the genius Hotaru Imai has a plan up her sleeve. But predictable circumstances become unforeseen circumstances, and things go awfully out of whack.

Words you may/may not need to know:

*_Taishitsu-kei _- AKA Somatic Class, the class Ruka and Narumi-sensei and Permy belong to.

*_Gijutsu-kei_ - AKA Technological/Technical Class, the class Hotaru, Misaki-sensei, Nonoko and Anna belong to.

*_Flying Swan _- Tell me you do know this invention of hers. Please.

*_Selective Headphones_ - Doesn't actually exist, not even in the manga.

Hope you enjoy reading~

* * *

"Yellow hyacinths mean jealousy in the language of flowers, Nogi." Hotaru narrowed her eyes at the flower that her source of income placed under her nose, blocking her projects on the desk. It was hideously bright yellow, completely opposite from the message it gave. "Get that thing away from me."

"You don't want it? I have a whole bunch of them," Ruka replied. When Hotaru looked over, she found that he wasn't lying; he _did_ have a whole bunch. And he was only giving her one measly flower from the stalk.

Did he not think her important or _terrifying_ enough for more than that? Hotaru quickly banished the useless thought.

"What do you plan to do with those? Put them in your hair?" Her lips twisted into a smile, and it widened when Ruka yelped 'No!' with a flushed face. Tell _me the spy bug in the room caught that on tape._

The blond didn't say anything else, so Hotaru returned to her blueprints. Then she heard him murmur, "I wanted to give them to people I loved."

Her hand twitched. The conversation was moving swiftly towards uncharted territory, she could get cornered without a plan, and that was the last thing she wanted. Not with so many projects still incomplete due so soon. For a while, Hotaru didn't respond - she didn't deem it _worthy_ of a response – until she saw Ruka glancing behind from the corner of her eye. It wasn't too hard to figure out what or _who_ he was looking at. It wasn't too hard to figure out a plan, either.

For the money, of course.

"So you love me, do you?" The line got a satisfying sputter from the teenage boy. "What about the idiot behind me?" She jerked her pen backwards to point to Mikan, who was loudly bothering Hyuuga. He was just trying to get some sleep, and Hotaru didn't understand why the idiot felt the need to talk to _some_body at _all_ times.

"Well, I... I don't _hate_ you so much anymore. And of course Sakura gets one; why would you even think otherwise?"

Why _would_ she even think otherwise?

"Do you love Hyuuga too?" Hotaru mentally shook her head at her own stupidity – something she never thought she would do. So many possible questions to ask, and she chose something as irrelevant as that. What the hell was wrong with her?

"You're kind of too curious about who I love, aren't you?" Of course she would be caught out. A smile slowly crept over Ruka's face; the type of smile that wasn't quite smug but still got on your nerves somehow. "Are the hyacinths making you jealous?"

"When did you get so confident when talking to me?"

"When did _you_ get so _defensive_ when talking to _me_?" Ruka quickly retorted. If Hotaru wasn't at a loss for words because she didn't have an answer for once, she was at a loss because Ruka Nogi _never_ retorted quickly around Hotaru Imai. Bold Ruka Nogi was Bizarre Ruka Nogi.

Luckily – which Hotaru would never admit, and screw the mindreader in the room – she was saved by the bell. Not quite literally, because if Narumi was a bell, he would be the frilliest and one of the noisiest and most annoying, second only to the idiot called Mikan Sakura. But it was close enough.

Hotaru narrowed her eyes at the blond. He must have understood the message, because Ruka backed away - Hotaru didn't even notice him get closer than they already were, sharing the same desk and all – and sagged into the seat beside hers. When she squinted, Hotaru saw him gulp.

_Good, because this is far from over._

* * *

Alice classes were right after homeroom, and went on until the end of the school day. Hotaru found them convenient, because most of the time, nobody bothered her as long as she looked busy at work, and the class gave her time to think. For some unknown reason, the class was a lot noisier that day, and many of her classmates crowded in groups, but Hotaru drowned them out. She needed time to reflect on her stupidity and find out just why Ruka Nogi became so bold.

Before he left for his own class, he had placed two yellow hyacinths from the stalk on Hotaru's side of the desk, as if giving two instead of one made things a whole lot better. The boy shouldn't be surprised if Hotaru didn't appreciate the act; in fact, he shouldn't be surprised if posters of him in a spaghetti-strap lace dress, forced onto him two years ago by the ever-loyal Taishitsu-kei, go up on all walls of all blocks of the academy. Hotaru knew that photo would come in handy.

Formulating a plan and strategy in her mind, Hotaru hastily completed most of her projects. She still had five to get done by the next day, but even with the task of putting the plan in play, she would have plenty of time to finish and also revise the inventions. Piece of crab cake.

* * *

There was a flaw in the plan which Hotaru would have taken into consideration on any normal day, but as it turned out, the day was anything _but_ normal. She might have heard something about decorating for Christmas from Mikan and some groups in Gijutsu-kei, but the Selective Headphones she invented and often wore did their magic. The headphones drowned out anything the wearer wished using the sound of waves literally drowning them, and 'Christmas' stood no chance.

Crowds of students filled all the hallways, putting up stars, wreaths and tinsel wherever they could: walls, lockers, ceilings, doors – name it, there was likely a decoration there. Someone mischievously hung mistletoe on a cubicle door in the girls' bathroom, as if anyone would really kiss in such disgusting places. Maybe some people would, but Hotaru decided not to dwell on it.

Riding her Flying Swan above the crowd, she scouted for a place to put up at least one poster. Hotaru did so for five minutes, but all the hallways in the High School building were full, as though the students were purposely being everywhere she turned just to spite her. She had even checked the Middle School building, abusing her position in the Hanahime just once, but the situation there was the same.

_I should invent something to make all these people suffer_, Hotaru thought wickedly. _They deserve it._

Almost as if the students nearby felt her deadly aura, the next corner Hotaru turned was surprisingly empty. At first, she felt it was too good to be true - the statistics didn't add up - but she took the chance. Hotaru briskly stuck a poster on a bare space of wall between a Christmas tree and a fake spray-painted Christmas tree. She found another space, which could fit two posters side by side, so she stuck two posters side by side.

Hotaru tried to move on fleetly, but she hadn't expected a blond male named Ruka Nogi to run full-speed towards her. When she turned her head, the next thing she knew, his face was right in front of hers; his eyes were a refreshing shade of blue she never noticed, and they were as wide as hers probably were, and their noses weren't touching because their _lips _were.

Hotaru didn't think she had ever been so shocked in her entire life.

The sudden extra weight made her lose her balance, but she regained it with the help of a step in the right spot and Ruka wrapping an arm around her waist. As soon as she was upright, Hotaru pushed him off and wiped her sleeve across her lips.

"What the hell were you doing, running at me like that?" she spat, glaring at the blond who also wiped his lips with his sleeve. He glared back, but his cheeks were scarlet.

"Why were you putting up those posters? What did I do this time, or are you just broke?" He stopped rubbing his sleeve across his face, but he kept it there, covering his lips. "I-I was trying to tackle you, but—"

"—You miscalculated," Hotaru blandly finished for him. Just because she was calm didn't mean she forgave anyone. "Typical."

"You were putting up something embarrassing of _me_ again, and I just tried to stop you!" His tightly clenched hands were at his sides.

Her arms were folded across her chest. "By tackling me? You couldn't have shouted a warning first?"

"That's what I always did back then, but _it never worked!_" Ruka yelled, exasperated. The loud music from the corner of the hallway didn't muffle him at all. "I had to catch you by surprise!"

Hotaru closed her eyes and leaned her head back, pinching the bridge of her nose. She sighed and counted from one to five silently, and when she opened her eyes, she had to count from five to one aloud. Ruka was confused of the usually-calm girl's actions, but as soon as he looked up, he understood.

"Imai, tell me that's not—"

"Mistletoe," Hotaru muttered. Her eyes seemed to be glued onto the plant on the ceiling, like her thumb and forefinger seemed to be glued onto the bridge of her nose.

"One misfortune right after the other," sighed Ruka. His eyes then widened, as if he just realized he had just kissed the girl who had always blackmailed him ever since they met. But he didn't. Instead, he said, his voice rather croaky, "Please tell me that wasn't your first kiss."

The girl finally freed her fingers, and without batting an eyelash, she replied, "That was my first kiss."

"It was mine, too."

"You're telling me such a fact for free?"

"Maybe because I do sort of love you, which is why I gave you those flowers," Ruka murmured. "But it's not like—"

Hotaru didn't even raise an eyebrow. The whole scene with the mistletoe still pissed her off, and the last thing she wanted to deal with was a confession.

"Nogi," she uttered, immediately catching Ruka's attention. "Save it. Right now, all I want to do is sleep."

"Oh," he said dejectedly. "Oh, okay."

"Really though, save it. Warn me first before you start confessing, so I can record it. I wouldn't miss it for the world." Avoiding his stunned reaction, she turned to her forgotten Flying Swan and headed back to her dorm, the echoes of Ruka's laughter filling the empty hallway.

* * *

Hotaru had to skip homeroom the next day to finish all the five projects that had slipped her mind, but staying up late to discover who hung the mistletoe and to plot their humiliation was well worth the time.


	2. Burnet

31/1/13 - yay for palindromes! This chapter is totally new, and I'm thinking I might alternate my updates between edited and new chapters. Chapter 1 is completely different from what was there before, so check that out if you want (but not in _that _way, please). If you'd like to review but already have before, you can send it via PM. Or you can go anon, I don't mind~ :3 (Assuming anyone _would_ review...)

Summary: Narumi helps others many times, but only on the one time he helps himself does he truly gain a merry heart.

Dedication: Pan~ You're gonna be imou-chii just because; unless you have complaints? :D

I hope everyone enjoys reading this 'cause I worked hard on it and everything-

* * *

Once someone leaves the academy, all connections are supposed to be severed. Unless they create a new connection, there is no reason for either party to receive news about the other.

Narumi thinks Hoshio Hoshino may have the worst connection possible.

"Lightning struck the car taking him home," Jinno had briefed him on the emergency before the blond made his run to the gate. "The driver was blinded and drove straight into a signpost."

"I thought Hoshino-san doesn't have an Alice anymore," Narumi had replied. He was sure there was no weather Alice left in the boy's body. He took part in the tests done on the child, after all.

"He doesn't," Jinno had said, his emotion unchanging. "They were in the middle of a storm."

While waiting for the academy limousine that will take him to the scene of the accident, Narumi looks up; but all he sees is blue sky, and remnants of the rainbow created with bliss. He wonders how far away Hoshio Hoshino's real home is from the academy, and how homesick the child must have felt on his first few days away from home. The ominously black limousine comes and Narumi enters without a word.

After an hour, Narumi finally hears rain pattering onto the roof of the car.

"How much further?" he blurts out. The driver glances at him, then at the rain on his windshield.

"Not much; we're on the same road. Thankfully the storm's calmed down a little."

Narumi sees the wreck after a minute or two. On the emergency lane, beside the car that looks nearly unfixable, stand five people huddled under two umbrellas. The nurse and the driver are under one, and Hoshino and his parents, the sickly-looking woman and the man clinging to her, are under the other. A police car is parked in front of the limousine. Narumi gets out as soon as the car stops, only just remembering to bring an umbrella, and he hurries to the family.

"Is everyone okay?" Five heads nod in response. He sighs in relief, and points to the replacement limousine.

"If you like, you can start making your way to the new limousine," he says. The nurse nods and she and the driver usher the family away. Narumi looks over to the two police officers getting out of their car.

"Are you from Alice Academy?" one of the men asks. Narumi nods before bowing.

"Thank you for taking care of them." _But if you wouldn't let them in your car for better shelter, you should have stayed out in the rain with them, _he mentally adds.

"We would have driven them home in the police car, but…" the other officer pauses, glancing at the suit-clad man who was driving the limousine that crashed. "Mr Driver firmly said no. And besides, we can't fit five more people in the small police car."

Narumi laughs. "That's true."

"So, about the car—"

"The academy will take care of it, insurance and repair and everything," the teacher cuts him off. "If the signpost was damaged, the academy will take care of it, too."

"Oh," mumbles the police officer. Narumi almost laughs; there are times when he also finds the academy's wealth unbelievable. "The driver of the crashed limousine had already filed an accident report, so, I suppose we can leave the car here and… the family will be driven home, correct?" The blond teacher nods.

"Yes, and the wreck will be taken care of before tomorrow, or as soon as the rain stops, I think."

"Well then, that's all. We'll be going, I suppose; and you all get to your destination safely, too."

"Yes sir, thank you." Narumi watches the police officers turn to their car before walking to the limousine awaiting him.

A moment after the car starts driving off, Narumi feels a tap on his knee. When he looks to his right, Hoshino is looking at him with a notepad and pen in his hand.

"Yes?"

"Please don't tell anyone," Hoshino writes onto his notepad. He flips the page, and continues. "I want the rainbow to be everyone's last memory of me." The boy hesitates for a moment, before writing on the next page.

"No one got badly hurt, so no one needs to worry."

Narumi thinks it's a good, selfless wish, created by a good, selfless child.

He agrees to the wish. The other students don't need to know. After all, once someone leaves the academy, all connections are supposed to be severed.

* * *

"Narumi-sensei!" calls an eleven-year old brunette. When Narumi turns to look at the girl, he sees her brown hair in pigtails, like normal; but he notes that the tips are slightly scorched.

Like normal.

"Narumi-sensei, this is really getting on my nerves now!" the girl grits her teeth, holding her hair to eye level. "You should tell him to stop or something!"

"What happened, Mikan-chan?" Narumi cannot help but chuckle.

"Not funny, sensei," mutters Mikan. "Natsume obviously burnt my hair _again_."

"Did you provoke him?"

Mikan pauses for a moment.

"I may have…"

"What did you accidentally say this time?"

"I was just talking to him about why dogs are better than cats-" _Because that is a completely okay topic,_ Narumi muses. "-and I accidentally said, 'have you ever heard of black dogs causing misfortune? No!' Then, next thing I know, my hair is on fire!"

The blond teacher knows better than to laugh at others' predicaments, but the laughter that suddenly bubbles out of him is virtually impossible to stop. It takes him a few minutes, and Mikan threatening to tell Jinno that 'Narumi-sensei laughed at me for asking him advice', for him to calm down and cough off his chuckles.

"I assume you've already apologized to Natsume-kun?"

The girl nods. "Of course. First thing I did, after nullifying the fire…" she looks to the left, embarrassed. "And after cursing a bit."

"And he didn't forgive you?" Mikan nods again. "Maybe you offended Natsume-kun—"

"But I didn't mean to, Sensei—"

"We don't mean to do a lot of things, Mikan-chan," Narumi interrupts calmly. "But they hurt others anyway."

The girl is silent for a few seconds; after which she blurts out, "What could've—what did I say?"

"Maybe it was about black dogs not causing misfortune? Remember, Natsume-kun was known as the Black Cat."

Realization dawns on Mikan's face, but it is quickly replaced by indignation. "That is so immature!"

Narumi chuckles again. "Well, Natsume-kun can have his immature moments."

There is a long moment where both are silent, while the indignation on Mikan's face morphs into regret. Narumi has seen such emotion before, but on a different face, in front a different person. He feels slightly honored that Mikan, who looks very similar to Yuka, would show him regret, while Yuka only showed it to her beloved sensei. He can't help but think there must be many meanings to that.

"What should I do, Sensei?" the girl asks. Narumi places his hand on her shoulder gently.

"Look, Mikan-chan." He crouches to her level, to look at those eyes that were a perfect shade of hazel on someone else's face. "I don't think Natsume-kun is the type to actually say he forgives someone."

Mikan's eyes widen. "You're right, Sensei!"

"Of course I am." Narumi replies almost automatically; he still has some pride from back in the days. "So, I think you should just talk to Natsume-kun normally. If he doesn't burn your hair, well, you've made progress, haven't you?"

"But what if he does burn my hair again?"

"He won't do that, because he loves you too much," he sings. The smile on his face remains mischievous when Mikan retreats and sputters.

"W-Wha, y-you don't know what you're talking about, Sensei!" she yelps. "T-There's no way that-!"

She gives up when Narumi doesn't do anything but smile.

"Um, well, thanks for the advice, Sensei! You're great, as always." Mikan gives him a hug, and he returns it. The brunette only walks out of the room and doesn't run, and Narumi thinks – no, he _knows_ that she must be thinking about what he said about Natsume loving her. He also knows she won't think about it too long, however, and Narumi wonders if the comment was worth it. At the pace the pair was going, nothing was happening, but _anything_ could turn things around.

He only hopes the comment would do the trick.

* * *

"You look tired, Misaki-sensei," Narumi comments when the said teacher enters the staff room, face pale and eyes drooping. The day was dedicated to Alice classes, and as far as Narumi knew, Misaki loved his class quite a fair bit. He has no idea what could possibly make the teacher so weary.

"I _feel _tired," the man replies. Misaki drops his bag and files onto the desk and plops onto the chair with his head on the desk, turning into an unsightly heap. He groans.

"What's the code?" Naru asks.

"Rose Pink Two."

The code system was something created by the staff long ago, before Narumi became a teacher. If there is or was a problem with students, from losing something to stealing something to attempting an escape, there was a color to match it. The number stood for which division the student was in; one meant an elementary student, two a middle school student and three a high school student.

Rose Pink Two simply meant a middle school student loved Misaki-sensei and gave him a gift.

"They get braver each time," Narumi coos. Misaki gives him a weary look.

"I'd have thought they'd gotten over it by graduation."

"Don't say that; appreciate what you have! What did you get?" Misaki opens his bag and takes out what looks like a cake box. When Narumi opens it, however, the "cake" is a soggy purple mess, almost like liquid, and it looks as if it bathes in blue fire.

Somehow, he doesn't think it's icing.

"I think it actually says something on top," Misaki mutters. Narumi thinks about trying to look closer, but the fire seems to sense his thoughts and rises to meet his face. "Yeah, it's just that I can't get close enough to read it."

By the time he closes the box, Narumi is both scarred and scared.

"I'm guessing the one who gave you that was Anna-chan?"

"And Nonoko," Misaki adds. "They joined forces. I can't even think about it."

"Oh, well, it's sweet, don't you think?" The exasperated look that Misaki gives him is a clear answer. "What? Love is a precious thing, Misaki-sensei!"

"And of course _you_ would be the expert," Misaki sighs. Narumi only flips his hair over his shoulder in response.

A few seconds of silence pass before someone knocks on the door, and they hear muted squeals from the other side. Narumi looks over at Misaki, and from the lack of color on his face, the blond knows he has no choice but to cover for his colleague.

When Narumi opens the door, carefully blocking the view of majority of the room, two teenage girls with peculiar hair colors greet him shyly. They both nudge each other, but when the pink-haired girl gets the final glare, the girl with the blue hair takes the initiative.

"C-Can we please speak to M-Misaki-sensei?" she asks, her voice barely a whisper. Narumi smiles and puts on an apologetic air.

"I'm sorry Nonoko-chan, he's asleep right now. I would wake him up, but…" He bites his lip, as if being Misaki's alarm clock at that moment means punishment worse than death. "He told me hasn't been sleeping well lately." The two girls look at each other.

"Yeah, h-he did look pale in class today," Anna comments softly.

"What did you want to speak to him about? Maybe I could pass on a message," Narumi cheerfully suggests. The girls look at each other again, and after a while, they shake their heads.

"Thanks sensei, but we'll tell him ourselves!" they say in unison, and bow before scurrying away. Narumi thinks either they must have used a telepathy Alice stone, or they formulated the plan completely using the bonds of friendship. Either way, Misaki may have just survived another day.

"I never thought I'd say this, Narumi, but I owe you one."

"You actually said that last time I helped you," the blond remarks with amusement. "So now you owe me two?"

Misaki has to threaten that he will force-feed the cake to Narumi before the latter says he was just joking.

"But you're still going to see them next week." Narumi can't stop his smile when Misaki visibly pales. "Come now, it's not that bad."

"It is if they give you poison cooking," he croaks.

"If it's really so bad, just reject them and stop leading them on already." The blond realizes the serious tone his voice has taken on only after Misaki changes from being weary to alert. His eyes slightly widen, and Misaki sighs, running his hand through his black hair.

"Yeah… alright," he says in defeat. "I can't believe I have to listen to you before I actually…" He stops himself with another sigh.

Narumi manages a smile, and takes out test papers he still has to mark. However, he's preoccupied with other thoughts. He wonders what made him say what he said, and his mind goes in circles.

But in reality, he knows. Who was he kidding? Of course he knows.

* * *

He sees her in a dream. She looks nothing like herself in her high school days, with shorter hair and a taller and skinnier build. But the face is definitely the same hazel eyes and fair skin and hair the color of sand. However, she isn't alone. Her beloved sensei walks alongside her, holding her hand. The first thing that comes to Narumi's mind is, "_they look happy."_

His mind (cruelly) reminds him that his love for her is and will forever be unrequited, and suddenly, the atmosphere in the dream changes. The couple and the sparkles and flowers that seemed to surround them disappear into a swirling mass of gray and black. When Narumi looks around, he finds the same swirling masses surrounding him on all sides.

"_Forget me,_" a familiar voice says, but instead of being from a specific direction, it seems to be speaking directly to his brain. The voice repeats, and Narumi recognizes the voice to be Yuka's.

"_Stop loving me."_

He hears it clearly the first time, but the voice multiplies and repeats the message at different times, like a chorus of echoes. The voices sound almost ghostly, and Narumi starts to feel uncomfortable. He wants to hate the owner of the voice, the one he has loved for so long—

Until he wakes up.

Narumi stares at the ceiling, not knowing what to think of the dream, which _nightmare _may be a more fitting term for. He realizes that the last time he had one of those was years ago. Narumi doesn't know what to think of _that,_ either.

All this time, he thought he loved Yuka, but the woman rejected him, saying he didn't understand what love truly was. Maybe he didn't, but Narumi thinks he does now.

Maybe love for his classmates made Hoshio Hoshino wish to hide the accident he was in. Love for Natsume made Mikan want to patch things up, but maybe love for Mikan made Natsume indirectly teach the girl to be careful about hurting others. Maybe love for his students made Misaki not want to upset them by refusing them – and, Narumi thinks, it isn't like they will give up so easily.

_Love doesn't ask for anything in return,_ someone once told him. There is a thin, blurred line between it and friendship, and if people can easily cross from friendship to love, Narumi finally sees that, years ago, he had crossed it the other way. He no longer thinks so much of Yuka being a long lost love; instead, he feels that she is more of a long lost friend.

Some say dreams are messages of wisdom from gods. Narumi silently thanks the gods for finally letting him realize what he should have years ago, and for finally setting him free.

He couldn't be happier.


	3. Cyclamen

**14/02 - **This is one of the few chapters I was pretty satisfied with, so very little changes were made.

**Warning: **Deathfic? Maybe? You'll see ;)

Happy Valentine's Day ha haha hahaha

* * *

_Shhhh._

Be still. Be quiet, and listen closely to your surroundings. What do you hear?

Do you hear the birds chirping outside, symbolising movement? Do you hear the chirps of a chick, the whines of a puppy, the cries of a baby; signs of new life? Or maybe you hear the leaves rustling in the wind, brushing against each other, showing sensitivity?

Do you hear the children laughing, playing; the future of our world growing? Do you hear even the slightest intake of breath, or the smallest of sighs? What about the crunch of brown autumn leaves on the cold hard concrete being trampled on? Do you hear animals consuming their prey, chomping away?

No.

All around you, there is silence. Everyone is still; too shocked to move a muscle. They hold their breaths, waiting for a moment to let it go along with their worries. If the enemies were to attack, no one would retaliate; but even the enemies remain statues.

Her scars and burns seem to take over her whole body, growing slowly but surely. They could easily be compared to cancer cells: cells which divide and reproduce so quickly no one can keep up. Everyone is soaked in their own sweat, praying with all their might for her to be safe. Even the smallest gulp can be heard in the overwhelming silence.

All around you are the seven signs of living. Movement. Reproduction. Sensitivity. Growth. Respiration. Excretion. Nutrition. Seven, yet she performed none. Sure, her wounds show growth and reproduction, but that isn't her doing. She isn't bringing her self to her death on her own free will.

She is no longer living.

Then, as if on cue, everyone recovers from their trance. The brunette girl with pigtails cries until her tears run dry. Her friends hesitate to comfort her, all except the girl with ebony hair. Her face is not so much in agony, but it is definitely sadder than her usual stoic face.

You glance at the lady directly in front of you. She is significantly shorter than you, shorter than when you last saw her, albeit the approximate 5-inch heels she wears. She holds a hand over her mouth while the other tries to support and keep together her trembling body. She is worried, and you know that much. Although she is the enemy, she was that woman's best friend.

Yet, she couldn't do anything. She couldn't prevent her ally from causing a death. Not even the Fuukitai she released from her control can revive the dead.

Your eyes slowly travel to the young man, who handed the key to that woman's death. He has a small evil smile plastered on his face; a smile you want to slap away so badly. He appeared to be one of the brunette's friends, but clearly isn't. His appearance caused that woman to trust him, leading to her death.

What happened to 'looks can deceive', Yuka?

You hear footsteps behind you and, when you turn around, you see a young child. Although you've never seen him before, you recognize his face. You would recognize that face anywhere. He was the cause of all war, the casualties, the problems. He is the root of all evil.

He is the Elementary School Principal.

He commands the young man to take the brunette hostage, and he does. She looks up in shock, and realizes the man is not who she thought he was. The mere act of grabbing the brunette's arm causes her friends to shout her name in worry. The raven-haired boy swiftly brings fire around the man. Unfortunately, it is deflected by the principal's barrier. He brags of it, and you are sick of it. His pride must be taken down, and that's what you do.

With your own barrier Alice, you ruin his.

He looks for the source of the attack and notices you; showing a face contorted by fear, shock and anger.

He asks for Yuka's body which is in your arms, and you would've laughed if your partner hadn't just died. _What would you do with a dead body?_ a part of your head asks.

_Oh, he could do heaps, _another part answers._ It just so happens that all those things are evil._

You firmly refuse, and he asks again; but you will not back down. If you back down, all of your hardwork and efforts would have been futile. All of _Yuka's _hardwork and efforts would have been futile. You know it would be the least you and Yuka from above would want. If the Elementary School Principal gets hold of Yuka's body, the academy will be ruined, and all the risks to protect the academy and continue Sensei's will would have been pointless. Without a doubt, it was just a matter of not letting the Elementary School Principal get his way.

So you make a deal with him, a deal that he cannot refuse. A deal that has four conditions that could change everyone's lives for the better. A deal to thank Yuka for her hardwork, her perseverance, and her mere agreement to letting you work with her. It was a deal to say 'thank you'; to say 'I will continue from here'. A deal to protect Yuka from here onwards.

Because you can never bring yourself to say goodbye.


	4. Belladonna

People of FFN, I bring you **714 words **this time. This chapter is in a new style for me, because there's no names mentioned and _I like names ok_.

Thank you to **redpantsu **for the amazing fic cover! :D

**Prompt: **Weave a story around this mixed proverb: "Silence is a great healer."

* * *

Sometimes, no words need to be spoken. Sometimes, silence is a great healer; a better one than words.

* * *

When the girl with ice water in her veins first came into his life, she hadn't said much. Even after he tried to warn her of the consequences if she touched him, the girl hadn't hesitated.

All she said was, "It's so warm."

He remembers when she had given him a flower. It was a plain, white, simple flower, but he had been hesitant to touch it. She had silently placed it in his hand, and he held on to it, thinking it would wilt after a second, like every other living object he had dared to touch. To his surprise, it didn't; it stayed alive.

She is exactly like the flower. They are both plain and simple, but strong.

At first he thought the girl had the Alice of Nullification. It would explain why she was still breathing after being touched by him. He was certain of this until he saw her files, which clearly stated that she had the "Ice Alice." The Nullification Alice had belonged to a certain teacher, the only one who had dared to touch and interact with him before the girl came around. It had also ended up useless against his Mark of Death, so what chance did the Ice Alice have?

He stayed away from her since, and had done a fairly good job at that. He spent most of his high school life until graduation in the basement, where he once lived, where he belonged. The silence welcomed him. It allowed him time to think. Silence usually meant no one was around, and that meant he wouldn't have a chance to use his Alice.

It all went well until he was assigned to teach the Dangerous Ability Class.

He walked through the classroom doors, and there she was, looking expectantly at him from her front-row seat. She didn't say anything, only had a gentle smile on her face; but the last person who had given him such a smile had died, too.

That smile turned upside down each time the girl got a new mission. She didn't want to use her Alice to kill, she said, and they had to resort to hypnosis to make her complete her tasks. It became routine, really, and students knew her as an Ice Princess with multiple personalities.

Back then, she had been like a docile lamb, hypnotized and looking glazed and willing to perform her duties.

Now she stands in front of him, plain, simple, but strong. She tries to persuade him to stop shutting people out, but he's sure she doesn't know what she's talking about. The only times she's ever experienced people dropping like flies from a single touch were when she was under hypnosis. If she had ever made the conscious decision to kill, she wouldn't be saying that.

Remembering that the girl had come back from watching the past, he puts two and two together, and realizes that her tone of voice is one of pity.

She keeps trying to convince him to apologize to all the people he's hurt and to admit his mistakes. Memories of the days of putting withered flowers on graves come flooding back, and the girl pleads for him to stop showing hate to the people around him. She talks all about him and the teacher who he respected and cared for, like she knew everything. He finds himself feeling exactly what he felt when he caused his teacher's death.

Once again, he loses control.

It's the first time he taints her with death. He feels that it should be a victorious moment, as if it is proof that nothing can really escape his Alice, but he only feels despair. She still doesn't give up; she still has the same stubborn look in her eyes. Her words bombard his mind, and all he wants is a break from the excruciating pain. Words really aren't his best friend, and actions are worse for speaking louder than words. Silence is all he wants, just what he needs.

His own marks cover his hands, his arms, and his face. The darkness is everywhere, and it's the last thing he sees before it completely overwhelms him.


End file.
